Stories from Monday, August 12, 2019

James “Nate” McKenna, age 94, of Storm Lake, Iowa died Thursday, August 8, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Funeral Mass were held on Saturday, August 10, at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial were in the St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visitation took place on Friday, August 9, from 5 - 8 p.m. with a rosary at 4:30 p.m. all at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Florence Ida (Green) Buehler, 86, of Storm Lake, passed away on Friday, May 3, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 15, at the Storm Lake United Methodist Church. Arrangements have been entrusted with Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Fort Dodge...

Robert Sampers, age 79, of Alta, died on Wednesday, August 7, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Celebration of Life Service were held on Sunday, August 11, at 2 p.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Visitation took place on Saturday, August 10, from 4 - 6 p.m. at the funeral home in Storm Lake. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

On Friday, June 12th, any kids ages K-12 were welcome at the Sac County Extension and Outreach Office for the Insect Zoo from Iowa State University. The youth that took part in the zoo were welcomed by a presentation from the staff from Iowa State and then the youth were able to come up close to the bugs and even got to hold some of the bugs! All of the participants had a great time and enjoyed the opportunity to hold the bugs. ...

The Iowa Poetry Association will soon release its 74th edition of “Lyrical Iowa,” the annual anthology comprised of poems by Iowa writers of all ages. According to Editor Marilyn Baszczynski, this year’s volume contains 381 poems chosen from 1,845 entries in their contest held earlier this year. ...

The Hanover Historical Society will sponsor its 15th Annual Tractor Ride on Saturday, August 17. Registration is from 8:30 – 9:00 at the Hanover Village located southwest of Alta at the intersection of M-27 and C-65. Those participating will take a leisurely ride north to the Duane Kent farm where they view a refurbished barn and the beautiful landscaping of the building site...

The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the best known meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere. It will soon be time again for this annual event. The earth’s orbit is crossing into the debris path of the Swift-Tuttle comet which last passed through the inner solar system over 20 years ago. The shower gradually builds to a peak of about 60 meteors an hour...

On Friday, June 12th, any kids ages K-12 were welcome at the Sac County Extension and Outreach Office for the Insect Zoo from Iowa State University. The youth that took part in the zoo were welcomed by a presentation from the staff from Iowa State and then the youth were able to come up close to the bugs and even got to hold some of the bugs! All of the participants had a great time and enjoyed the opportunity to hold the bugs. ...

A state board has approved a measure that expands the number of medical conditions that can legally be treated by medical marijuana in Iowa, but rejected several other conditions. The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board voted Friday to allow those with chronic pain to have legal access to medical marijuana. The condition joins others already allowed, including seizures, Crohn’s disease, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s disease...

Milford-based medical staffing business GrapeTree announced in October of 2017 it planned to move operations to the nearby Boji Bay Pavilion. The public was invited to view the completed facility Wednesday afternoon after a ribbon cutting on the northern steps of the campus. ...

The Buena Vista Medical Center hosts a display of photos by HughPerry through November. Here is Perry’s artist statement: Most of my photos are taken locally. It is always fun to travel and take images of interesting and iconic foreign scenes, but I have found that my best and most satisfying shots end up being taken in or near Storm Lake...

As school begins and the leaves begin to turn, the big action blockbusters of summer will give way to Hollywood’s best story-telling months. Expect the usual long-in-the-tooth sequels (a reboot Charlie’s Angels, a sixth Terminator flick, the supposedly final Rambo installment, an animated Addams Family, and Frozen 2 to name but a few.) But there will also be some genuine Oscar contenders, a few sleeper hits, and even an original idea or two. Here are some of the best bets for fall:...

Mark your calendars and save the date for Wood, Wine & Blues, August 16th – 18th in Sunset Park! Wood, Wine & Blues consists of a three-day chainsaw carving competition with five chainsaw artists from across the country. This year the competing chainsaw carvers are Keith Gregory (returning), Clint Henik (returning), Fernando ‘Don’ Dulnuan, Jimmy Hobbs, and Brent Pope. ...

Two voter advocacy groups have told Iowa’s secretary of state that the state must stop rejecting ballots from people misidentified on state lists as felons, saying that the practice violates election laws. The Brennan Center for Justice and the League of Women Voters of Iowa told Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate that the rejections violate the National Voter Registration Act, which allows the U.S. ...

THE DNR FISHING REPORT: Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) White Bass - Fair: Use leeches, crawlers and twisters. Walleye - Fair: Pull crankbaits along the dredge cuts on the east side of the lake and to the west of the big island. Low light hours may be more productive. Channel Catfish - Fair: Try cut bait, stink bait or crawlers fished on the bottom. Target areas with rocky structure. ...

A second consecutive month of below normal precipitation has about 36 percent of the state rated as abnormally dry, according to the latest Water Summary Update. “It seems surprising that after the wet winter and spring that we would be thinking about drought conditions, but recent dryness has pushed parts of the state in that direction,” said Tim Hall, DNR’s coordinator of hydrology resources. ...

A youngster poses in a selfie shot on the dock of the tourist resort King’s Pointe in Storm Lake recently.

There are many times where people wonder what kind of legacy they will be left behind when their days are through. For Alta-Aurelia graduate Abby Kraemer, she, along with others, will leave behind a lasting legacy for the Warrior softball program as the first team to reach the State Championship...

Around 3:40 p.m. on August 8 emergency responders were dispatched to 3125 310th, Street, Lake View on a man trapped in a grain bin. Lake View and Sac City Fire Rescue as well Sac County EMS and the Sac County Sheriff’s Office responded. Through the investigation it was learned that 58-year old Garry Alan Leonard of Lake View had entered a grain bin partially filled with corn to break up some clotting as they were loading out into a grain trailer. ...

A Storm Lake educator has been arrested, accused of stealing from fundraiser events at her parochial school. In June, Storm Lake Police took a report of an apparent theft at St. Mary’s Catholic School, and began an investigation. Police met with school administrators and finance personnel who alleged that a school faculty member had been stealing money from several school fundraisers throughout the academic year...

Campus Compact’s AmeriCorps Program this month awarded Buena Vista University a grant totaling more than $98,000 to allow the University to continue growing its AmeriCorps service program. The award represents the largest grant BVU has received from Iowa Campus Compact...

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center employee Evan Franzmeier has been selected as a 2019 Iowa Hospital Association Hospital Hero. Evan is one of 10 selected in the state and will be honored at a ceremony in October. Evan is the Fitness & Health Center Manager. His co-workers and family surprised him with the announcement of the honor...

In a low-key address Friday in Storm Lake, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper noted that while he is running low in polls, no sitting senator has ever defeated an incumbent president in U.S. history. “It will come down to a governor and a mayor,” he predicted, saying those positions are “where the buck stops.”...

Climbing off her colorful tour bus on Lake Avenue Friday afternoon, Democrat Kamala Harris was met with a throng of national media and a handful of enthusiastic supporters. Despite rough treatment in a recent debate and arriving nearly an hour behind schedule, Harris pulled a small army of reporters along with her, opposed to three other Democrats arriving in Storm Lake this week with no such attention...